Original Item: Only One Available. The Springfield Model 1861 was a Minié-type rifled musket shoulder-arm used by the United States Army and Marine Corps during the American Civil War. Commonly referred to as the "Springfield" (after its original place of production, Springfield, Massachusetts), it was the most widely used U.S. Army weapon during the Civil War, favored for its range, accuracy, and reliability.

The barrel was 40 inches long, firing a .58 caliber Minié ball, and the total weight was approximately 9 pounds. The Springfield had an effective range of 200 to 300 yards, and used percussion caps to fire (rather than the flintlocks of the 18th century, the last U.S. flintlock musket was the Model 1840). Trained troops were able to fire at a rate of three aimed shots per minute while maintaining accuracy up to 500 yards, though firing distances in the war were often much shorter. The most notable difference between the Model 1861 and the earlier Model 1855 was the elimination of the Maynard tape primer for the Model 1861 (the Maynard primer, a self-feeding primer system, was unreliable in damp weather, and the priming mechanism was expensive and time-consuming to produce). Further, unlike the Model 1855, the Model 1861 was never produced in a two-banded "short rifle" configuration.

The Springfield was aimed using flip-up leaf sights. The sight had two leaves, one for 300 yards and the other for 500 yards, and with both leaves down, the sight was set for a range of 100 yards. By contrast, the British Pattern 1853 Enfield, favored by the Confederates, utilized a ladder-sight system with 100 yard increments, using steps from 100 to 400 yards and a flip up ladder for ranges beyond 500 yards. While the Enfield's sights did allow finer range settings, the Springfield's simple leaves were more rugged and were less expensive to produce. The Enfield's sights extended to 900 yards (and further, on later models), compared to the 500 yard maximum range of the Springfield's sights. Realistically, though, hitting anything beyond 600 yards with either weapon was mostly a matter of luck. While the sight designs were very different, the two weapons were otherwise very similar, and had very similar effective ranges.

The Springfield Rifle cost $20 each at the Springfield Armory, where they were officially made. Overwhelmed by the demand, the armory opened its weapons patterns up to twenty private contractors, including James T. Hodge & Addison M. Burt of the Trenton Locomotive and Machine Company, Trenton, New Jersey. The Trenton contract was received on December 26 1861 for 50,000 rifles. The full delivery number of arms from 1862-1864 was 21,995, making these extremely rare.

The most notable producer of contract Model 1861 Springfield however was Colt, who made several minor design changes in their version, the "Colt Special" rifled musket. These changes included redesigned barrel bands, a new hammer, and a redesigned bolster. Several of these changes were eventually adopted by the Ordnance Department and incorporated into the Model 1863 rifled musket.

The Model 1861 was relatively scarce in the early years of the Civil War (many troops were still using Model 1842 smoothbored muskets and Model 1816/1822 muskets converted to percussion cap primers, both in .69 caliber). It is unlikely that any of these were available for use in the First Battle of Bull Run. However, over time, more and more regiments began receiving Model 1861 rifled muskets, though this upgrade appeared somewhat quicker in the Eastern Theater of Operations. Over 1,000,000 Model 1861 rifles were produced, with the Springfield Armory increasing its production during the war by contracting out to twenty other firms in the Union. The number of Model 1861 muskets produced by the Springfield Armory was 265,129 between January 1, 1861 and December 31, 1863. According to United States Muskets, Rifles and Carbines by Arcadi Gluckman Colonel Infantry, United States Army, published 1949.

After the war ended, many model 1861 and 1863 rifled muskets were modified to a breech loading actions with new metallic cartridges. With these modifications, the basic 1861 evolved into the Springfield Model 1873 which served the US until being replaced in the 1890s by modern breech loading rifles chambered for new smokeless powder rounds that were far superior to the Model 1873.

This lovely example however was not converted, and is still in the original configuration, looking to have seen only light use during the Civil War. It has however had the fore stock forward of the lower barrel band replaced for some reason, almost certainly post war. It is dated 1863 on the lock plate tail, and also has an Eagle stamped into the lock next to U.S. / TRENTON. The lock plate does show some staining and past cleaning, but the markings are still fully legible. The barrel is clearly marked 1863 on the top of the breech, and also has the V / P / Eagle's Head proof marks on the left barrel facet intact. The barrel is also marked with an N.J. surcharge on the side, standard for this contractor.

The metalwork overall is in very good shape, with a lovely peppery patina of age. It shows no signs of major restoration or cleaning, just how we like to see them. It looks like a rifle that saw a good amount of service in the field, and then was put away for a long time. There is a bit of powder burn around the cap nipple cone bolster, and the nipple cone itself shows some light wear, but looks to be original. The cleanout screw for the bolster does show some marring of the slot, however it still can be unscrewed for cleaning. The lock functions correctly, holding correctly at half-cock, firing only at full. This gun has the correct pattern three leaf rear sight, which still moves easily, and the "barleycorn" front sight is intact as well. We checked the bore, and it is in very good condition, with a partly bright finish and clear lands and grooves. The three groove rifling is readily apparent, and we can still see some machining marks in the grooves, though there is scattered oxidation closer to the muzzle from moisture exposure.

The walnut stock has a beautiful red-brown color, with light wear from age and service. We checked the left side by the lock screws, and were not able to see any inspector cartouches present. As mentioned previously, it has has most of the fore stock replaced, with a glue joint under the lower barrel band. Checking the grain of the wood shows that it definitely is not matching. We assume that the fore stock was heavily damaged at some point, and another stock, probably one with a broken wrist, was used as a "donor". The joint is glued together, and does not look to be an arsenal level repair. All three barrel bands still have their U markings, with U.S. on the butt plate tang. The ramrod is the correct and original tulip type with an enlarged shank, and we were not able to remove it from the stock.

This is a great chance to pick up a lovely patinated Civil War Contract Rifled musket by a rare maker with an interesting history! Ready to display!

Specifications-

Year of Manufacture: 1863
Caliber: .58"
Cartridge Type: Minié Ball and Powder
Barrel Length: 40 Inches
Overall Length: 56 Inches
Action type: Side Action Lock
Feed System: Muzzle Loaded

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IMA considers all of our antique guns as non-firing, inoperable and/or inert. Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 921(a)(16) defines antique firearms as all guns made prior to 1899. This law exempts antique firearms from any form of gun control or special engineering because they are not legally considered firearms. No FFL, C&R or any license is required to possess, transport, sell or trade Antique guns. All rifles and muskets sold by IMA that were manufactured prior to 1899 are considered Antiques by the US BATF (United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms). Therefore, all of IMA's Antique guns may be shipped to all US States and most nations around the world.

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Pre-1899 Manufacture, no licenses required, allowed to ship to almost any deliverable address across the globe. Please note that for international shipping, these MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services. International customers should always consult their country's antique gun laws prior to ordering.